3. Study the brief reference
How to become a lawyer in the USA
1. Obtain a Bachelor’s degree with high grades.
2. Pass the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) with a high score.
3. Attend an American Bar Association (ABA) law school.
4. Qualify for Juris Doctor – JD – degree.
5. Pass the ABA bar examination.
4. Legal education mode in the USA is rather complex consisting of some important stages. The table below shows these stages but doesn’t provide information. Copy the table in your notebooks in order to fill it out with the facts you’re going to find in the text of the interview with an American attorney.
Duration of education Undergraduate courses:
skills to develop Degree obtain
ed Admission require
ments LSAT:
sections
and
skills Graduate
course:
1st year
2nd year Degree obtain
ed Bar
exam:
purpose
Interview with an American Attorney
(correspondent – C; Mr Edwards – E)
C. We are speaking today about legal education in the USA, and our guest is Mr. Steve Edwards. Firstly, how long does it take to become a lawyer?
E. 7 years. That means 4 years of undergraduate study for a bachelor’s degree followed by the graduate Juris Doctor (JD) law degree.
C. So, law is not offered at the undergraduate level, is it?
E. No, students read law only at law school.
C. Would you fill us in on some details of the undergraduate course? I mean what college to choose, what subjects to study…
E. Gladly. Law students need to develop the three basic skills: communication skills both written and spoken; research skills; and especially analytical thinking skills. These abilities can be developed by any major: social sciences, history, economics, humanities and engineering. So a bachelor’s degree at any top college or university that provide highly efficient background will give you a better chance for admission.
C. Here we come to admission. Is it really that difficult to enter a law school?
E. I wouldn’t say it is difficult if you, first, have high undergraduate grade, and, second, also score high on the LSAT.
C. Ah, yes, the famous Law School Admission Test? As I know, it’s a rather thorny kind of examination.
E. If you read up for LSAT properly it’s not that hard.
C. Could you tell me more about it?
E. Sure but just in brief. The test measures reading and verbal reasoning skills that are essential to succeed in law school. It consists of five 35-minute sections of multiple-choice questions. Only four of the five sections will contribute to your score. These sections include one reading comprehension section, one analytical reasoning section, and two logical reasoning section, an experimental section which can be any of the above and finally, and an essay writing section.
C. OK, a successful applicant becomes a happy student. What courses make up the first year curriculum?
E. During the first year of law school the students usually take major courses such as Constitutional Law, Contracts, Property Law, Torts, Civil Procedure and Legal Writing.
C. A few words about the program of Legal Research and Writing, please.
E. The students are taught to work with documents just the way a lawyer usually does. They attend the library, write legal memoranda, draft documents, and prepare briefs.
C. What other practical experience do they acquire?
E. They participate in the school’s moot competitions in which the skills of argumentation are developed in mock trials under the supervision of experienced lawyers and judges and in legal clinic activities.
C. Will you say a bit more about the clinical education?
E. Sure. A special clinical semester is aimed at gaining practical experience by young lawyers. It is hands-on learning model when students develop their lawyering skills with real clients. Of course the clinical semester is offered for the r
C. What courses are included into the second and third year program?
E. For upper-level students the courses are mainly optional. There usually is a broad range of offering from which a student can plan his or her own curriculum. It depends on the perspective practice area you are aiming at. But at the same time it’s essential to deepen and broaden the basic legal literacy and understanding the law as a whole.
C. Which major courses did you specialize in?
E. I chose the career of a business lawyer from the start, so the courses I was mastering were Corporate Law, Commercial Law, Business Organisation, Antitrust Law, Commercial Law, Intellectual Property and such.
C. What comes under the graduation?
E. You graduate from the school, gain JD and look for a job. You may find the position but you can’t practice law. You must be licensed, or admitted to the Bar. All states require that applicants for admission to the Bar pass a written Bar Examination; most jurisdictions also require applicants to pass a separate written Ethics Examination.
C. Thank you, Mr. Edwards. I hope we meet next time to discuss career possibilities for young lawyers.
Notes:
legal memorandum (pl. memoranda, memorandums) – службова записка, довідка, доповідна записка
draft documents – залишати документ
brief – короткий письмовий виклад справи, записка у справі
moot – навчальний судовий процес
mock trials – інсценований судовий процес
hands-on learning – навчання на практиці
jurisdictions – тут: судовий округ
5. Write a short essay about legal education in the USA.
Legal Education in the UK
8. Learn the core Vocabulary
pupilage - учнівство
chamber – приймальна мирового судді
essay – нарис, есе
A-level – advanced level
A-level examination - General Certificate of Education examination at advanced level
vocation/vocational – професійний, такий, що має відношення до професії
vocational studies – професійна освіта
assess/assessment – оцінювати / оцінка, атестація
enroll on a course – записатися на курс
provisional Qualification Certificate – попередній кваліфікаційний сертификат
Full Qualification Certificate – сертификат про повну кваліфікаційну відповідність
complete a course – закінчити курс
Abbreviations
LLB - Bachelor Degree – ступінь бакалавра
LPC - Postgraduate Legal Practice Course – курс юридичної практики із завершення вищої освіти
BVC – Bar Vocational Course – курс професійної підготовки при колегії адвокатів
LLM – Master of Law - магістр юриспруденції
LNat - examination for admission to a law school
GCSE – General Certificate – сертифікат (атестат) про середню освіту
of Secondary Education
9. Study the Brief Reference
How to become a solicitor or a barrister in the UK
1. Cover a three-year undergraduate degree program to obtain LLB.
2. To qualify for a solicitor it’s required to take one0year Postgraduate Legal Practice Course – LPC.
3. Perform a two-year training contract with a firm of solicitors to gain practical experience.
4. To qualify for a barrister it’s required to take one-year Bar Vocational Courses (BVC).
5. Complete 12-month pupilage at a barristers’ chamber.
6. To specialize in a certain law area takes a one-year LLM course (option for solicitors and barristers).
10. Prepare two separate abstracts – one about a solicitor’s qualification another about a barrister’s qualification.
11. Read the text
Legal Research
Studying law in the United Kingdom means a three-year undergraduate degree program which results in LLB. This is an academic qualification but is not a license to practice as a lawyer. Lawyers are divided into solicitors and barristers. So their further education modules are different.
Admission
Applicants to a law school (department of a university) must have the GCSE – General Certificate of Secondary Education – and A-level that show the achievements of the candidate. There is no special admission test to law schools, though some universities have their own tests.
Top law schools are launching a national admission test for undergraduate law degrees.
The eight leading law schools which have designed the new National Admission Test for Law (LNat) say it will help to distinguish between the top candidates as they receive more and more applications from students with straight A grades. It should also help to widen participation in law courses. The two-hour long LNat exams consist of multiply choice and short essay questions.
Undergraduate Course
The program gives students knowledge of the fundamentals of law.
The first year provides a systematic introduction to the foundational subjects and offers a choice of optional subjects both from within the department and from other departments of the university. First and foremost they have to master the basics of the sources of common law.
Students also develop their knowledge of major legal concepts and principles of law application. They are introduced to the core skills associated with the study and practice of law.
A sample of the curriculum is as follows:
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
Public Law
Criminal Law
Law of Tort
Law of Contract Property Law I
Jurisprudence
Law and Policy of the European Union
Advanced Contract and Tort
Options Property Law II
Research Project
Options
Postgraduate Vocational Legal Studies
Legal Practice Course – LPC
The LPC is a one-year program by full-time study for those intending to qualify as solicitors. The aim of the course is to prepare students for legal practice, enabling them to develop the necessary knowledge and skills required to practice as a solicitor. The teaching of legal skills is fully integrated in the relevant areas of law.
About forty institutions offer the LPC in the UK, and many deliver the teaching through a variety of forms. Assessments are also varied, ranging from practical exercises (tested both orally and in written form) to examinations.
Bar Vocational Course – BVC
Those who intend to practice as barristers in the UK or abroad, will need to enroll on the Bar Vocational Course, run at ten institutions in the UK. This is also a one-year full-time course, and like the LPC is taught and assessed in a variety of ways. Unlike the old Bar Finals Examinations course, the BVC focuses much more on practical skills, alongside with studying law. After passing either the LPC or BVC, students then go on to complete a period of practical training in order to qualify as solicitors, or be able to practice at the Bar.
Pupilage
Pupilage is the final stage of the route to qualification at the Bar, in which the pupil gains practical training under the supervision of an experienced barrister. Pupilage is divided into two parts: the non-practicing six months during which pupils follow their pupil master’s instructions and the second practicing six months when pupils with their pupil master’s permission, can undertake to supply legal services and exercise rights of audience.
At the end of the first six months, if the pupilage has been completed satisfactorily, the pupil master must submit a certificate of satisfactory completion of the non-practicing six months to the Education and Training Department. The pupil then obtains a Provisional Qualification Certificate.
At the end of the second six months, if the pupilage has been completed satisfactorily, the pupil master must submit a certificate of satisfactory completion of the practicing six months to the Education and Training Department. The pupil graduates with a Full Qualification.
LLM (Master of Law)
LLM (Master of Law) degree is the next step for those who intend to continue the study in the field of academic law. The specialized one year programs are as follows: LLM Business Law, LLM Commercial Law, LLM Critical Legal Studies, LLM Employment Law, LLM Family Law, LLM Feminist Legal Studies, LLM Human Rights, LLM Intellectual Property, LLM International Law, LLM International Environment Law, and LLM Public Law. At the end the students are expected to complete a dissertation.
12. After you have written two abstracts about the qualification mode for solicitors and barristers, practice speaking about these modes.
Legal Education in Ukraine
You are supposed to be aware of legal education system in your home country. Answering the questions below use the vocabulary of the Unit and apply your knowledge of the material. If you don’t know the exact answer, do kind of research – look up the guides, appropriate Ukrainian websites or ask the mates or colleagues.
How do you apply for a law department?
What are the admission requirements?
What exams do you have to take and pass to be admitted?
How long does it take to qualify for a lawyer?
What degree do you obtain?
What courses do you take at undergraduate (1-2 years) / graduate level (3-5 years)?
What are the core / foundational courses?
What are the optional / elective courses?
How are the knowledge development and gained skills assessed during the academic year?
When do the students start special courses (specialization program)?
Is there a clinical semester / special training program in the curriculum?
What university or law school provides the best educational background?
How do you get qualified with the Collegium of Advocates?
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